“W-What…no…there were others here?”

“Mr. Bern it’s okay! Tepis has Basic Combat, he can help! Tell us what did this to you!” Sierra exclaims as she sees the horrible blow in Bern’s side. It looks someone’s smashed an axe into his thick leather armor. The tough protection has been sheared apart and blood soaks through from his gut. “Oh my god! Where’s your party! We need to get you out of here!”

“R-Run….RUN! You have to leave now!” Bern’s eyes bug out as he tries to warn us of the creature in the shadows. However, the girls are too busy trying to staunch the bleeding. Sierra tries to blot away the blood, but her rag becomes soaked in seconds. “LEAVE ME AND RUN!”

“Damn, Mr. Bern. It’s going to be okay. I’ll deal with this thing off, and then we’ll find your party!” Tepis sees that Bern is in shock and raises his scimitar as the thing in the darkness begins to walk forwards. Instantly, I sense a level of killing intent which doesn’t belong in a newbie dungeon. My eyes narrow, zooming in with the System assist and I see a long thin blade gleaming in the dark. Stop…this is wrong! ALL WRONG! That’s not a dagger! It has a sword! Normal goblins don’t use swords!

“You don’t understand!” Bern howls in agony as Sierra wipes her sweaty brow and pushes her hands onto his wound. “It doesn’t matter what you do, you have to leave!”

“One second, Mr. Bern, let me deal with this thing before we talk!” Tepis blurs into motion, speeding into motion. At the same time, he raises his left hand and reveals a gleaming Solar Gem. The light inside explodes from his fingertips!

“What the hell is that?”

“That’s…a goblin?”

*CLANG*

Tepis’s silver scimitar clashes against a rusted iron longsword with a rat’s skull embossed on the handle. Bern continues to howl over and over while the boy and the strange mutated goblin which stands almost as tall as him, battle it out.

“Just get out! GO NOW!”

*CLANG CLANG*

It’s too late, however. Tepis swings hard to the tall goblin’s left. I notice that instead of the usual rags, this one has more complete clothing, and even sports a tattered cape. My thoughts churn as they exchange blows.

They’re…fencing. It knows how to sword fight? In a dungeon like this? A goblin with a sword has to be a mutant variety, unless it’s a boss. Either way, it’s at least Lvl. 20, probably higher! What level is Tepis even? Even if he can beat it, can he do it safely?

“I got this!” The solo Hunter is fast. In addition to that, he definitely put some points in strength because he’s matching this abnormally tall goblin blow for blow. At one point, they come close enough to us that I get a glimpse of its status.

Lvl. ?? Goblin Swordsman

“Take this!” A second later, the scimitar slips past and Tepis scores first blood! The goblin hobbles, as its thigh is cut open. However, it quickly regains its composure, holding up its rusty blade and waiting patiently for the Hunter to close in. The lack of fear from a goblin is terrifying. It faces death like a human.

“Get him Tepis!”

“You can do it!”

Sierra and Rita cheer while attending to Bern. Despite the goblin’s insane strength, Tepis has Basic Swordsmanship unlocked. With the System’s help, he manages to overpower it. A swift parry sends the Goblin Swordsman’s blade into the dirt and that’s the end. Tepis steps on it, trapping the goblin’s sword before effortlessly cutting off its head.

“Got it! Whew, that thing was Lvl. 21. I actually got some good experience!” The boy leans in over his kill and swipes his Hunter Card to claim it. By the time he turns back, Bern has almost passed out. The big man’s eyes are glazed over, and he can barely speak. Tepis hurries back to his side while I glance uneasily at the darkness. “Mr. Bern! I killed it, tell us where your party is!”

“I…” Bern’s mouth dribbles blood. A gurgle comes from his throat. He’s lost too much blood. “I t-told you. Get out! They’re…going…to…collapse…the…entrance…!”

“WHAT?!” Everyone shouts and all my suspicions begin to materialize. Suddenly the cave starts to feel too small. It’s like the darkness is pressing in on us. “But we’re still in here!”

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“We…didn’t know…I…tried…warn…you wouldn’t listen. It’s…too…late. Can’t…make…it. Only survive.” Bern’s mouth stops moving, just hanging there as blood falls from his lips.

“Oh my god…he’s dead!” Sierra shrieks, thumping the man’s chest. “Come on, wake up! Don’t leave us!”

Collapse the entrance?

I examine the man’s still-warm body closely. Even with my heart frozen by that place, I can feel it beginning to beat faster as the hints begin to tell the truth.

There’s more than one injury on his body.

And some of them aren’t sword injuries.

There’s more of these things here.

A lot more.

Everyone’s thoughts are racing at Bern’s last words. Tepis reacts swiftly and checks the man’s pulse, but when he ascertains that he’s dead, the solo Hunter immediately rises.

“We need to go. He said they were going to collapse the entrance!”

“R-Run!”

We all start sprinting back the way we came, leaving Bern and the dead mutated goblin in the darkness. Running as fast as we can, I begin to fall behind. The others try to slow down for me, but I wave them onwards.

“G-Go!” I hoarsely shout. Thankfully my voice doesn’t fail me now. The truth is dawning on me as we go. All we can hope for is that Bern was wrong, and that they won’t blow the entrance before we get there! Exiting the top of the 2nd Floor, I catch a glimpse of Rita’s short legs ahead of me. Come on come on!

Despite the urgency of the situation, I still feel oddly disconnected. Even the thought of death doesn’t scare me like it once used to. That is…until I realize that I don’t know where I’ll be reborn.

If I go all the way back to the beginning of Tiendas City…and then…NO!

Suddenly real panic floods my veins and my legs burn as I try my hardest to escape the reaper. I don’t give a damn about my zombie right now. I don’t care if the world goes up in flames. I just don’t want to go back to that place.

There’s light up ahead. The sound of our feet smacking into the gravel changes pitch as the tunnel mouth widens. Strangely, smoke begins to fill my nostrils. The sound of something on fire comes. I try to think of what it might be. The wooden frame holding up the entrance looms large up ahead.

The supports…they’re burning the supports!

“STOP! STOP!” Tepis screams as he catches sight of the rapidly disintegrating planks. The sun is setting, gentle orange rays bleeding into fiery flames which are licking away at the support structure. Who knows how long we have before it will collapse completely? A group of figures wearing Black Raven insignias on their chests looks up from far away. They start to scream warnings, but it’s too late. With a last crackle, the wooden support structure holding up the cave entrance crashes down.

*Rumble*

Instantly, fractures run all up and down the ceiling in front of us. I put on a last burst of speed but then abruptly reverse direction as huge chunks of rock begin to fall. The sunlight and screams of Bern’s teammates are drowned out in a cave-in of epic proportions. I come upon Sierra and Rita flailing about trying to protect their heads with their shields. Reaching out, I grab an elbow in each hand and haul them back. Tepis flashes on past us at some point, holding out a Solar Gem for light as the world falls apart.

*Kacha Kacha*

*Smash Smash*

*Hsssssss*

“G-Get to the 2nd Floor! It’ll be more stable on the deeper levels!” Tepis coughs, his mouth filling with dust instantly as he speaks. Everyone’s running around, stumbling, trying not to die. Small rocks, big rocks, every kind of thing is falling on top of me, but I don’t dare let go of the girls to shield my head. After what feels like an eternity, but was probably closer to fifteen minutes, we make it to the drop-off where the 2nd Floor begins.

“Everyone in!”

After diving beneath the solid rock of the next floor, we keep going for a bit. After a minute, I hear a huge crash and looking back, I see that the entrance to the 2nd floor has collapsed as well. Only when we reach Bern’s body do I feel like it’s safe to stop. Pulling the girl’s down into a crouch, I listen.

*Hssssss*

Dust and silt stream down from the ceiling but the big crumbling rocks have stopped. I don’t need to go back to the exit to know we’re trapped.

The entire 1st Floor collapsed.

We’re stuck in here.

“Oh my god…” Rita rocks back and forth on my left, her pigtails covered in chalk, “We’re going to die…we’re going to die!”

“S-Stay calm. B-B-Breathe!” Sierra talks to no one, on the other side. “T-This isn’t happening!”

“I…that actually just happened…” The solo Hunter fares no better. His bravado has faded away as he considers his part in this disaster. “No way…if I had just listened to Bern…maybe we would have had time…no no NO!”

For my part, I just work on stilling my rapid heart. Looking around, I take in the darkness, and try to avoid panicking.

We are not going back to that place. There’s a way out of this. Just need to think…

My icy indifference helps. But it’s been cracked ever since I realized that dying might send me back to that hell. Additionally, something else has been bothering me. Seeing Bern’s body only brings it to the forefront of my mind. Then it hits me-

Multiple wounds…Bern could have handled a single Goblin Swordsman on his own. But instead, he had the rest of his party go and collapse the entrance. Why would he do that instead of just killing it together?

*Badump*

Unless…it’s not just a single mutant. The only reason you’d stay behind in a situation like that would be if there were more enemies than you could fight. And even then, normally you’d run away, right? But that’s not what he did. Bern chose to collapse the tunnel. He collapsed the tunnel…because there’s something in here that can’t be let out!

*Badump*

The hairs on the back of my neck begin to crawl as I turn my head and peer into the empty darkness beyond us. I’m hoping it’ll be nothing. But as the orange lamp on the tunnel wall flickers ominously, I blink to clear my eyes.

Dozens of green eyes blink back at me. The cackling laughter of a horde begins to fill the silence.

“Eeeeeee! Eeeee! Eeeee!”

Oh…crap.